Maloney strikes out 13, Wasylow fans 12

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. (April 24, 2010) – Junior left-hander Brian Maloney (Brockton, Mass.) struck out 13 in the first game and senior right-hander Heath Wasylow (Rehoboth, Mass.) struck out 12 in relief in the second game on Saturday afternoon as the No. 30 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University baseball team swept a Northeast-10 Conference doubleheader from Assumption at Dr. Arthur and Martha Pappas Field. Franklin Pierce won the first game, 8-1, and the second, 11-2. Junior third baseman Derek Ingui (Sterling, Mass.) drove in four runs on the afternoon for Franklin Pierce.

With the victories, Franklin Pierce improves to 30-11-1 (16-5-1 Northeast-10), while Assumption falls to 21-20 (8-13 Northeast-10) with the losses. Franklin Pierce has now won at least 30 games in nine straight seasons dating back to 2002.

Franklin Pierce jumped out to a 4-0 lead courtesy of a pair of long balls in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, sophomore catcher Mike Dowd (East Bridgewater, Mass.) launched a solo home run well beyond the fence in left-center, his sixth home run of the season. Later in the inning, with runners on first and second, freshman center fielder Nick LaCroix (Grafton, Mass.) yanked a pitch down the left-field line for his sixth home run of the season as well, which re-tied him with Dowd for the team lead.

The Ravens broke the game wide open with three runs in the bottom of the fourth off the bat of junior left fielder Mike Munoz (Bronx, N.Y.), to push the lead all the way to 7-0. After a walk and two hit batsmen loaded the bases, Munoz unloaded them as he stung a three-run double into the gap in left-center field.

Assumption got on the board with a run in the top of the sixth inning. Senior second baseman Matt Jose led off the inning with an infield singe, moved to second on a wild pitch and went to third on another infield single, this one by senior center fielder Derek Migrants. Jose would later score from third on a groundball to the left side by freshman shortstop Shane Keddy, who reached base on the play via an error.

Franklin Pierce tacked on an extra insurance run in the bottom of the eighth innings to make it 8-1 on an RBI groundout by Ingui.

Maloney threw a four-hitter on the mound to pick up the win (2-3) for Franklin Pierce. He allowed one run, walked one, hit a batter, threw two wild pitches and struck out 13 to tie a career high. He previously struck out 13 Saint Rose batters on May 1, 2008. It was the second consecutive complete game, four-hit outing for Maloney, who has now allowed only two runs over his last 17 innings on the hill.

Junior right-hander Joe Green lasted just 3.2 innings on the rubber and took the loss (3-2) for Assumption. He was touched up for seven runs on eight hits, walked one, hit two batters and struck out two.

In the second game, Assumption opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first inning. Junior right fielder Blake Youngblood led off with a single to right-center, moved to second on a walk and went to third on a flyout to deep center. He then came into score on an RBI grounder by Keddy.

Franklin Pierce answered with a run of its own in the home half of the first to tie the game at 1-1. Senior second baseman Cody Kauffman (Blue Bell, Pa.) led off with a single to center, moved to second on a single into left by Dowd and came around to score on a line-drive double over the head of the left fielder by senior right fielder Phil Hendricks (Pittsfield, Maine).

The Ravens then took the lead at 4-1 with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Graduate student first baseman Mike Augustine (Kingston, N.Y.) and junior designated hitter Eric Pearson (Webster, N.H.) opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Freshman shortstop Dan Kemp (Sturbridge, Mass.) followed and pushed a bunt single past the pitcher. It rolled to the area vacated by the shortstop, who was covering third, which allowed Augustine to score from second on the play. After a groundout pushed the runners to second and third, Ingui laced a double over the head of the center fielder to drive home two runs.

Franklin Pierce made it 5-1 with a run in the bottom of the fifth when Hendricks led off, walked, was awarded second on a balk and came around to score on a single into left-center by Augustine.

The Ravens would add three more in the sixth and one in the seventh to run the lead all the way to 9-1. In the sixth, Ingui knocked an RBI single through the right side and Hendricks punched a two-run single into right field. In the seventh, Pearson singled to left and eventually scored on a wild pitch later in the inning.

Assumption picked up its final run of the day in the top of the eighth inning to briefly close the gap to 9-2 on an RBI single to right field by Migrants. In the home half of the eighth, freshman Eric Romano (North Branford, Conn.) provided a pinch-hit, RBI single and freshman Drew Larson (Bridgewater, Mass.) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to right.

Sophomore right-hander T.J. Ferguson (Westmoreland, N.H.) started on the mound and did not factor in the decision. In one-plus innings of work, he allowed one run on two hits and walked one. Wasylow took things from there with 6.2 innings to pick up the win (1-3) out of the bullpen. He allowed one run on four hits, walked one, threw a wild pitch and recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts.

Sophomore right-hander Frank Flynn took to the hill and took the loss (2-3) for Assumption in the second game. Over 3.2 innings of work, he surrendered four runs on six hits, walked three and struck out three.

The Ravens return to the field on Sunday, April 25, when they travel to Massachusetts Lowell for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at LeLacheur Park in Lowell, Mass. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Tuesday, April 27 against Massachusetts Lowell at 6 p.m.